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- Oct 18, 2001
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- 20,978
"How much blade and handle can you fit in a fixed blade EDC?"
This question has been going through my mind over and over and over for the last few months.
Here are some of my thoughts:
So, I've been keeping these thoughts bouncing around my head all this time...waiting for the inspiration to come. I've looked at lots of knives....have found some that have some great features...and have tried to draw from those.
Well...designing a knife is like having diarhea.....ok...stay with me on this one...
Seriously....when it comes, it comes....and it runs and just won't stop!
Well, that was me over the weekend...I was finally able to put it all together...and couldn't stop working/thinking/designing until it was done.
I drew out what I wanted on graphing paper, scanned it and then traced over that in CAD. I put it in CAD so that I can make adjustments, take accurate measurements, and play around with the design a bit.
After that, I printed the drawing out here in the shop, glued it down to a piece of steel and got to work on it...just now completing it (amongst other things ).
(Someday I'll do a big tutorial on it...pretty cool how it all comes together)
So, enough talk....here are the pics...tell me what you think of this solution so far.
As you can see...the blade-to-front-of-the-handle measurement comes in right under 3 inches.
:thumbup:
Here are some pictures showing the thickness of the handle and the tapering on the tang.
The balance point on this knife is right at the first pin in the handle. Which means it won't feel too light or too front-heavy...and also won't feel like a brick in the hand. The combination of drilling out the tang and then tapering it removes a LOT of steel without sacrificing strength.
This knife weighs in at 5.4 oz. Lighter than my current EDC pocket knife...and 100% legal in most states.
My plan is to offer this in 2 sheaths (both leather) - a deep pouch sheath that would cover the handle up to the 2nd pin and would also be set up for horizontal carry.....or a pocket sheath (also deep) with a pocket clip for true "pocket carry".
Here's the last picture...shows what the knife looks like in my hands. I have a Large size hand. It's not small, not Grandissimo. Just regular ole Large. It fits fine, with a little bit of wiggle room for those with XL hands.
Specs:
7.5" overall
3" blade (2 15/16" actual - from tip to choil)
1/4" thick 5160, satin finish, tapered tang (down to 1/16"), full flat grind down to 0.010", unsharpened swedge, thumbgrooves
4.5" long handle, 7/8" wide at thickest points, Bubinga with aluminum corby pins and 3/8" lanyard tube (chamfered)
weight = 5.4 oz
POB = first pin
For now...this is a prototype only...I am going to take this with me camping this weekend...we have a Family Reunion this Thursday-Sunday out at the Buffalo River. I'm going to pass this one around our group to get some non-knife-nut opinions....as well as do some cutting/testing of my own. If I get some good pics, I'll post a full review here. Perhaps, I might open this up to a passaround...but not yet. Still need to test it a while myself...carry it everyday...get a good leather sheath for it. etc.
Tell me what you guys think.....
What is your ideal 3" fixed blade EDC?
What features would it have?
Dan
This question has been going through my mind over and over and over for the last few months.
Here are some of my thoughts:
- I want to make a knife that is legal in most every state.
- I want it to be clearly, obviously legal...no raised eyebrows....sheeple-friendly.
- I want it to be practical...easy to use.
- I want the handle to be full sized so that there are no compromises. I'm ok with 3-finger handles...but a true fixed-blade EDC would be a full-size handle...no task it couldn't do.
- I want to get as much blade as possible out of it...meaning if the length is fixed at 3"...I'm going to beef up the height and width.
- I want it to be 1/4" stock...to make it nearly indestructible. Which, in a 3" blade, means plenty of tapering all around.
- I want it to be lightweight, easy to carry..maybe even pocket-carry.
- I want a tapered tip for easy penetrating (ie. unsharpened swedge)
- I want thumbgrooves
- It needs a lanyard hole
- I want it to have a guard...even if only a little one...some kind of guard.
- For the handle to be full-size...I want it to "fill the hand"..be thick enough to really grip well.
- I want a full flat grind down to a fine edge. I get the best overall/all-around performance from this kind of grind. I love to do scandi-grinds, as well as hollow grinds. And, of course, they all cut well. But for an EDC that will spend as much time opening letters as it will whittling or helping out in the kitchen, or peeling fruit...and still be as strong as possible.....a full flat grind to a fine edge is the way to go.
So, I've been keeping these thoughts bouncing around my head all this time...waiting for the inspiration to come. I've looked at lots of knives....have found some that have some great features...and have tried to draw from those.
Well...designing a knife is like having diarhea.....ok...stay with me on this one...
Seriously....when it comes, it comes....and it runs and just won't stop!
Well, that was me over the weekend...I was finally able to put it all together...and couldn't stop working/thinking/designing until it was done.
I drew out what I wanted on graphing paper, scanned it and then traced over that in CAD. I put it in CAD so that I can make adjustments, take accurate measurements, and play around with the design a bit.
After that, I printed the drawing out here in the shop, glued it down to a piece of steel and got to work on it...just now completing it (amongst other things ).
(Someday I'll do a big tutorial on it...pretty cool how it all comes together)
So, enough talk....here are the pics...tell me what you think of this solution so far.
As you can see...the blade-to-front-of-the-handle measurement comes in right under 3 inches.
:thumbup:
Here are some pictures showing the thickness of the handle and the tapering on the tang.
The balance point on this knife is right at the first pin in the handle. Which means it won't feel too light or too front-heavy...and also won't feel like a brick in the hand. The combination of drilling out the tang and then tapering it removes a LOT of steel without sacrificing strength.
This knife weighs in at 5.4 oz. Lighter than my current EDC pocket knife...and 100% legal in most states.
My plan is to offer this in 2 sheaths (both leather) - a deep pouch sheath that would cover the handle up to the 2nd pin and would also be set up for horizontal carry.....or a pocket sheath (also deep) with a pocket clip for true "pocket carry".
Here's the last picture...shows what the knife looks like in my hands. I have a Large size hand. It's not small, not Grandissimo. Just regular ole Large. It fits fine, with a little bit of wiggle room for those with XL hands.
Specs:
7.5" overall
3" blade (2 15/16" actual - from tip to choil)
1/4" thick 5160, satin finish, tapered tang (down to 1/16"), full flat grind down to 0.010", unsharpened swedge, thumbgrooves
4.5" long handle, 7/8" wide at thickest points, Bubinga with aluminum corby pins and 3/8" lanyard tube (chamfered)
weight = 5.4 oz
POB = first pin
For now...this is a prototype only...I am going to take this with me camping this weekend...we have a Family Reunion this Thursday-Sunday out at the Buffalo River. I'm going to pass this one around our group to get some non-knife-nut opinions....as well as do some cutting/testing of my own. If I get some good pics, I'll post a full review here. Perhaps, I might open this up to a passaround...but not yet. Still need to test it a while myself...carry it everyday...get a good leather sheath for it. etc.
Tell me what you guys think.....
What is your ideal 3" fixed blade EDC?
What features would it have?
Dan
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